"The rebuild was obviously helped by the luck of the draft ping-pong balls — Matthews had an 80% shot of wearing another jersey before the hockey gods blessed Toronto. However, the shrewd moves made by the front office pushed the Leafs to the cusp of Stanley Cup contender status, and separate Toronto’s rebuild from less successful attempts by other teams (cough, Buffalo, cough)."

"This year, Canada’s team is finally forcing America to pay attention, as the Dinos clinched top spot in the Eastern Conference, set a new team record for wins in a regular season, and look like legitimate title contenders. How did the team with the biggest chip on its shoulder go from perennial basement dwellers and league laughing stock to clinching a fifth consecutive playoff spot?"

"Up to the final four, the rest of the tournament was relatively uneventful with the exception of one outlier: the University of Loyola Ramblers. The 11-seed Ramblers somehow kept knocking off formidable foe after formidable foe, including the likes of 6-seed Miami and 3-seed Tennessee."

"Although the All-Star Weekend officially began with the celebrity game on Friday evening, I’m going to pretend it started with the Rising Stars Game that night since only so much analysis can be devoted to Jamie Foxx’s antics and watching out-of-shape ex-NBA players get their yearly workouts in."

"A key element to this current success is in the club’s leading goal scorer, Robert Lewandowski. The 29-year-old striker has been named the all-time top scorer for Poland, been ranked as the fifth-best footballer on the planet by the Guardian in 2015, and been a regular contender for the Ballon d’Or in recent years."

"It seems that the language we use to characterize concussions matters. Case in point: a 2010 study done by researchers at McMaster Children’s Hospital in Hamilton, Ontario studied 268 children admitted with head injuries who had had computed-tomography (CT) scan results. One of the more surprising things it found was that many parents and clinicians used the term “concussion” to imply the exclusion of a brain injury in the following sense: “He doesn’t have a head injury, he has a concussion.”"

"I have no strong feelings about National Hockey League (NHL) shootouts. On one hand, they remove the intricacies of the sport and leave the outcome in the hands of gimmicks and raw skill, but on the other hand, they let a game end definitively. On another hand, they give a last minute excitement to the game, but on a final hand, 3-on-3 sudden death is more fun. One thing you can say about shootouts is that they are unique. Only soccer, with its penalty kicks, has anything like shootouts."

"For our Toronto Raptors, the 2017–18 NBA season has been remarkable. Currently holding the #2 seed in the Eastern Conference, the Raps are playing at a .722%-win percentage, indicative of not only their dominance in the East but also across the entire league."

"Not to say the expectations weren’t high this year. Many pegged the Leafs to keep moving forward given their young forward talent (led by budding icon, Auston Matthews). The feeling of meeting lofty expectations is just something that a pessimistic Leafs fan isn’t used to yet."

"Powerlifting is a sport known for its simplicity of concept, and for the intense dedication and strength its athletes show. When in competition, athletes will perform three lifts to test both their physical and mental endurance. These three lifts consist of the bench press, the squat, and the deadlift."

"As proven by his stellar performance over his relatively lengthy career, Roy Halladay truly was one of the greatest to ever pitch in the MLB. What happened this week was tragic, and although he is gone, his historic play will remain with us forever. Rest in peace, Doc."

"With 3 goalies on injured reserve, Vegas called up Maxime Lagace who was in net against the Leafs Monday night, and of course was clipped in his crease by the Leaf’s Zach Hyman in the second period. Fortunately, Lagace was able to shake it off, and prevent another goalie change. This time it would have been 19-year-old Dylan Ferguson, the emergency call up, who currently plays for the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers, and doesn’t even have an image pop up on the Vegas roster page."

"Toronto FC is coming off not only with the team’s greatest season in history, but the best season in league history officially after a 2–2 draw in their last match against Atlanta United. That point means that TFC finished the season on 69 points, one more than the 68 that the 1998 LA Galaxy posted in the shootout era and the 67 points that the LA Galaxy posted in 2011 in the post-shootout era."

"30 years ago, some 400 St. Mike’s fans packed the stands to watch their intramural football team win the Mulock Cup four years in a row. For those who do not know, the (now defunct) Mulock Cup is the oldest trophy in Canada, and was awarded to the best intramural football/rugby team within U of T."

"The Astros oversaw a 3–1 series victory over the Boston Red Sox in a series that many had as already deciding the eventual champions. Facing off against the Astros will be the rebuilding powerhouse New York Yankees, who are coming off an impressive 3–2 series win against last year’s runner-ups, the Cleveland Indians."

"All over sports centers and news outlets, reporters are forecasting a fruitful season for the Leafs. The Leafs’ first game against the Winnipeg Jets set the tone with a 7-goal outburst that will probably have Leafs fans squealing and excited to shell out hundreds to watch their team at the Air Canada Centre."

"However, this display of unity may distract fans and observers from the issue Kaepernick set out to make known. It is valuable to support unity, but if the support is not widely accepted and established, the people it was intended to benefit will fall through the cracks."

"Fortunately, there are ways to split the massive entity that is U of T and to form groups where common interests are shared and friendships are made. One of these ways is through the world of intramural sports."